Through His Eyes
by just.a.little.too.obsessed
Summary: Rewrite of 'Mortals' Brett has had his eyes on Annabeth all year. How will he react when he finds out that she has a boyfriend? Another cliche story from a mortal's POV
1. Chapter 1

**Through His Eyes**

**Chapter 1**

**Hello everyone! Welcome to the new version of **_**Mortals.**_** My writing skills were awful when I wrote this story the first time, and my other stories are pretty awful as well. I will not be deleting anything since I feel like I need to give my younger self some credit, but I do not recommend reading any of my old writing. Anyway, this rewrite will include a lot of editing and some minor plot changes, and since I already have an outline, I should be able to update once a week, but I can't promise anything. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Brett took a deep breath as he stepped out of the school, his eyes immediately searching for the one person who had been on his mind all day. He was going to do it. He was finally going to ask Annabeth Chase out on a date.

Brett found her sitting on the stone wall at the front of the school, reading a book. As always he was stunned by how beautiful she was, seemingly without trying. Annabeth never did anything special with her curly blonde hair, but the way little strands would fall out of her ponytail and frame her face always made Brett want to gently push them away and kiss her. He wanted to stare into her deep grey eyes for hours and watch them sparkle when she laughed.

Brett had been dreaming about Annabeth since she first transferred to his school last fall, and today he would finally make his dreams come true. Everyone in the school thought Annabeth was beautiful, though most guys were too intimidated by her to ask her out. Those who were brave enough to ask were politely rejected, and those dumb enough to try something always ended up with a black eye. Brett smiled at the memory of watching Annabeth sock Liam in the nose for trying to kiss her.

Brett knew that Annabeth was just waiting for the right guy. She never mentioned anything about a boyfriend, so all those rejections must simply be because she was looking for someone better.

Brett was hoping he could be that someone better. He would be perfect for Annabeth. Brett knew she was incredibly smart, and she must be looking for an equally smart boyfriend. She and Brett were in most of the advanced classes together, and she always seemed friendly to him when they spoke. So he took that as a good sign, and it gave him the final push of courage he needed to finally ask her.

He navigated his way around the bustling students, but before he could get close to Annabeth he was distracted by the sound of screeching tires. Brett whirled around in time to see a white van come to a screeching halt in front of the school. The side of the van announced that the van belonged to the Delphi Strawberry Delivery company, so besides wondering what made the school finally decide to buy real food, he didn't think much of it. That was until instead of workers carrying strawberries, a bunch of teenagers piled out of the van.

Brett wasn't the only one staring as he watched the first one stumble out of the van. These strangers had attracted the attention of most of the school. The only one who didn't seem interested was Annabeth. Brett glanced over to see that she hadn't even looked up from her book.

"Thank the gods!" the first boy exclaimed as he all but jumped from the car. "Solid ground at last!"

"Oh shut up, Repair Boy," a girl snapped as she got out of the driver's seat. She wore a leather jacket over a black Death to Barbie t-shirt. On top of her spiky black hair sat a silver tiara, which didn't exactly go with the rest of the outfit. She didn't look older than fifteen, and Brett wondered if she really should be driving. "I got you here alive, didn't I?"

"You started driving before I even shut the door!"

"But did you die?"

"That's not the point! I could have died! Again!"

Brett figured it must have been some sort of inside joke, though he couldn't imagine why anyone would be joking about dying. The two continued to argue about the girl's driving skills as the rest of the group piled out of the car. The first to jump out was a blond man who simply sighed at the arguing pair and readjusted his glasses. The girl who followed next was obviously his girlfriend if the way that he wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her uneven brown hair was any indication. The gender-swapped version of the driver crawled out next with a scowl on his face as he pushed his shaggy black hair out of his eyes. If Brett had to guess he would say that the scowl made a regular appearance on the young boy's face.

Brett had a bad feeling about these strangers. Everyone in the group radiated power. They all seemed to hold themselves in a way that said, 'I've seen things, and I've done things. Don't mess with me.'

"Guys, come on. You can argue some other time. Right now we just need to find Annabeth and get out of here."

Brett hadn't noticed the last man exit the vehicle, but he whipped around to look at him when he heard Annabeth's name. What could this group possibly want with Annabeth? There is no way Annabeth would ever get mixed up with this type of people. Brett could just tell they were dangerous. He especially didn't like the look of the last guy; the one who had spoken. He had windswept black hair that looked like it had never seen a brush, and he had a troublemaker look about him. His somewhat baggy clothes and tattered sneakers didn't help that image. Brett didn't like the idea of this man getting anywhere near Annabeth.

Brett didn't know how Annabeth could get mixed up with these people. Maybe they were blackmailing or threatening her, but all he knew was that he had to protect Annabeth from them. Who knew what kind of bad influence they could have on her?

Brett began to walk toward Annabeth at the same time the group spotted her. Somehow they reached her first, and Brett could only watch as the last man tapped on her shoulder.

Brett didn't know what he expected, maybe annoyance or even fear, but he certainly didn't expect Annabeth's face to light up when she laid eyes on the group. She couldn't actually be friends with these people, could she? Annabeth was better than that. She was smart enough to know not to get mixed up with the wrong crowd.

Brett was close enough to listen, but not close enough for the group to notice him. He stood there as he listened to the group speak to Annabeth as if they'd known her for years, not wanting to jump in right away before figuring out the best way to get Annabeth out of there.

"Hey, Wise Girl," the troublemaker said casually.

"Percy!" Annabeth jumped up and wrapped her arms around him, much to Brett's surprise. Though nothing could prepare him for the shock of Percy kissing Annabeth. Brett waited for Annabeth to shove him away and punch him as she'd done with everyone else who had even tried to kiss her, but instead, Annabeth leaned into the kiss. It was only a short kiss, but with it, Brett's world came crashing down. Annabeth had a boyfriend? How could this have happened? And by the looks of him, he didn't seem like a very good one. He was probably a player and a cheater, so how could Annabeth choose this Percy guy over him? Brett was everything Annabeth wanted- smart, kind, respectful. Brett was someone you would be proud to take home to meet the parents, whereas Percy looked like someone every father tried to keep his daughter away from.

"Are you ready to go?" Percy asked as Annabeth greeted the rest of the group. "We still have to pick up Grover; there was a situation in Central Park that he had to deal with. And Hazel and Frank are meeting us there."

"Sounds good to me. Is Calypso going to make it, Leo?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah," the small brown-haired man answered. "She's gonna swing by later. She's still setting up the garden and she insisted on finishing up before coming."

"Rachel's not going to make it. Something about her dad making her go to some gala thing, but Nico said that Will might be able to come around later." Percy wrapped his arm around Annabeth as he spoke, leading her to the delivery van.

"If he can ever get away from the infirmary," the boy who Brett assumed to be Nico muttered.

Brett didn't know what was going on, or who these people were, but he had seen enough. He knew he had to protect Annabeth and guide her away from people who would corrupt her. He walked over to the group, stopping in front of Annabeth and Percy. "Hey, Annabeth."

"Oh, hi Brett. Did you need something?"

It was only now that Brett realized he didn't know what to say. Annabeth and he were on friendly terms, but not friendly enough for him to be demanding that she introduced him to everyone she talked to. Thankfully he remembered that he actually did have an excuse to be talking to Annabeth. "It's just that we still have to do that assignment for English, and I was hoping we could pick a time to meet up." Brett congratulated himself. Not only was that a valid excuse for talking to her now, but it also gave him more time to talk to her, without the rest of her friends hovering around. Brett could almost feel the weight of their stares.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Annabeth sounded distracted like she had already forgotten that they were assigned as partners earlier that day. "Why don't you just come over to my place tomorrow? I'll text you my address."

Brett couldn't believe his luck. Annabeth was inviting him to her house? Surely this was too good to be true. "Sure," was all he said. "Does eight work for you? I have plans in the afternoon."

"Yeah, sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow," she said, already walking away with the strange group. Brett watched as they all piled into the car, arguing about who got to drive.

"Why can't I drive?" Nico protested.

"Because you're like fourteen, dude," the blond explained.

"I'm literally older than all of you, Jason."

Before anyone else could argue, the goth girl jumped back into the driver's seat, and Brett watched as the rest piled in. The van shot off across the parking lot, taking Annabeth with it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**I'm so sorry I haven't updated even though I promised! You should know by now that my promises mean nothing. Anyway, as always please read and review, and let me know if you find any mistakes. I edited this at 2:30 in the morning, so you never know what might slip past me. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO**

* * *

Brett nervously straightened his shirt before knocking on the door. He still couldn't believe that he was actually at Annabeth's apartment. It was surreal. Maybe by the end of the afternoon, Annabeth would see what a great guy he was, and he could take her to the movies next Friday.

"Come in," a muffled voice called. It didn't sound like Annabeth, but maybe she had a brother? "It's unlocked!" Brett turned the knob to find that indeed it was unlocked. He would have to talk to Annabeth about that. It wasn't safe to leave the door unlocked, especially in New York, anyone could just walk in.

Brett was greeted with a strange sight when he walked in the door. The strangers that had picked Annabeth up yesterday were scattered around the living room, fast asleep. There were also a couple of people that Brett didn't recognize from yesterday, like the blond boy that was sleeping on the couch with his arms around the boy Brett remembered as Nico. The punk girl who had driven yesterday had crashed on the other side of the couch, and there was a girl with frizzy red hair and paint-splattered clothes curled up in the armchair. A large man on the floor was leaning against the couch with a dark-skinned girl's head in his lap, and a boy with curly brown hair and a goatee was sprawled out on the rug. Brett took a step further into the apartment and saw Leo, one of the boys from yesterday, next to a girl that Brett didn't recognize sleeping near the other end of the couch. The blond boy Brett had heard someone call Jason leaned against the loveseat, his arms wrapped around who Brett had guessed was his girlfriend, and laying on the loveseat was the boy that kissed Annabeth yesterday- Percy.

Brett wasn't sure what to do, he didn't see Annabeth, and he didn't want to wander through the apartment uninvited. But then Percy rolled over asking, "Who is it?" Brett realized that it had been Percy's voice that he had heard. It concerned Brett that not only was Percy in Annabeth's apartment, but he was also allowing anyone to come in, not even knowing who they were beforehand.

Percy's eyes focused on Brett. "Oh hey. Brett, right? Annabeth's in the kitchen; it's right through there." He pointed to a doorway.

Brett had meant to thank him, but instead, all that came out of his mouth was, "What are you doing here?"

He expected Percy to get mad; he certainly seemed like the type of person to get angry and defensive when questioned. Instead, he just laughed softly. "Oh, I live here. As for the others," he glanced over at the sleeping figures. "They seem to have spent the night."

Percy lived here? But this was Annabeth's apartment. There was no way they could be living together. Annabeth had never mentioned him before, so they couldn't have been dating for long. He'd have to ask Annabeth what Percy had meant. Brett turned to say something else to Percy, but he'd already rolled back over and fallen asleep.

* * *

"Hey, Brett. Sorry, I didn't hear you come in," Annabeth greeted as he entered the kitchen. "Would you like anything? We've got all sorts of drinks and Sally made some pancakes before she left."

He eyed the pancakes. They were blue. "That's okay, I already ate breakfast. I wouldn't mind a glass of water though."

Brett pulled out his books and sat at the table as Annabeth grabbed a glass of water. "Annabeth?"

She hummed in acknowledgment.

"Do you always leave your door unlocked?"

"Yeah, for the most part."

"That's really dangerous. Aren't you worried someone will break in?"

Annabeth shrugged. Not really. Even if someone did break-in, I'm sure we could handle it. We have some friends who need a place to crash sometimes and Sally wants to make sure everyone knows they are welcome so she keeps the door unlocked."

"Sally?" he questioned. Annabeth had never mentioned a stepmother, but then again, she never really talked much about herself at all. She almost never let any personal details slip, preferring to talk about her outside interests instead.

"She's Percy's mom," Annabeth said offhandedly as she moved to prepare herself a plate of the strange blue pancakes and a cup of tea.

"Oh." Brett tried to wrap my brain around what that meant. Did that mean Percy actually lived here after all? Where was Annabeth's family? Why was she staying here?"

"Yeah, it's a shame she had to go into work early today; I'm sure you would have loved to meet her. She's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. She was kind enough to let me stay here so I could go to school in New York for my senior year."

"Why don't you just live with your family?"

Annabeth raised her eyebrow, giving him an almost incredulous look as she turned and sat down at the table across from him. "My dad lives in San Francisco."

"Oh," Brett said for the second time that morning. "He trusts you enough to let you live so far away?"

"I've always been pretty independent," was all she said, but Brett felt like there was something more to the story than she was telling.

Annabeth started pulling papers out of her binder. "We'd better get started on our project. Do you have any ideas?"

Before he could say anything they were interrupted by someone entering the kitchen. They brushed past with no acknowledgment of either Annabeth of himself.

"Good morning to you too, Thalia," Annabeth smiled into her tea. The driver from yesterday- Thalia- merely grunted in response. Annabeth continued, "Sally made a pot of coffee for you."

That seemed to get her attention. Thalia's eyes instantly honed in on the coffee pot, and she wasted no time pouring herself a cup. She raised the mug to her lips and took a long sip. "Ahhh, 'tis truly the nectar of the gods."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "That stuff really isn't good for you, you know."

"Oh no, what'll it do? Stunt my growth?" She said it as if there was some sort of joke behind the words, but if there was, Brett couldn't understand it.

Annabeth, on the other hand, seemed to understand the inside joke perfectly. She smirked as she took another sip of tea and rolled her eyes again. "Just take your coffee and go. Can't you see we're busy?" The words were harsh, but there was no real bite behind them. Annabeth sounded more amused than anything.

"Yeah, yeah whatever," Thalia waved her off. "I know when I'm not wanted. I mean I only get to see you maybe twice a year, but you still decide that schoolwork is more important than hanging out with me."

"Thalia, you've been here for three days and I've been with you almost the whole time. I can't just ignore my schoolwork if I want to get into a good college next year."

"Oh please," it was Thalia's turn to roll her eyes. "With your brain, you could get into any school you wanted. And besides, you already know you're going to NRU next year."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I should give up trying."

"Awww," Thalia held her hand over her heart. "Look at you being all responsible. My little girl's all grown up."

Despite the fact that Thalia had said the words as a joke, Brett still got the feeling that there was a little bit of seriousness behind what she had said. That confused Brett. Thalia couldn't have been more than fifteen; Annabeth was definitely older than her. So why was Thalia calling Annabeth her little girl with any sort of sincerity?

"I've always been responsible, Thalia. Now get out of here."

Thalia filled her mug with more coffee and left the kitchen without another word. As she passed the table Annabeth hissed, "And don't you dare wake up the others. I don't want any sort of conflict until after I am done with this project."

Thalia smirked. "Now Annabeth, what gives you the idea that I would even think about causing trouble?"

Annabeth ignored the question. "Out."

With that, Thalia walked out of the kitchen, giving Annabeth a mock salute.

"Sorry about that," Annabeth sighed, turning back to Brett. "Did you say you had any ideas for the project?"

Instead of answering Brett asked, "NRU? I don't think I've ever heard of it."

"It's a small private school."

"What does the abbreviation stand for? Maybe I'll have to look into it. Then we could go there together."

Annabeth didn't seem too enthusiastic about that idea, but Brett was confident that he could change that once she started hanging out with him more. "New Rome University. It's pretty exclusive. Not many people can get in."

"I'm one of the top students in school, I'm pretty sure I've got a good chance," Brett pressed.

"There's more to the qualifications than just grades," Annabeth sounded almost annoyed. "This has nothing to do with our project. Come on, the sooner we get started, the sooner we get finished."

Brett couldn't help but agree with that. When the project was finished he wanted to hang out with Annabeth some more. He was sure that it was only a matter of time before Annabeth realized just how great a guy he was, especially compared to her current boyfriend. Once he made her realize that he was so much better for her, it would only be a matter of time before she was his.

* * *

Brett jumped when the screaming started. He turned to Annabeth, expecting her to be worried or even scared, but instead, she just looked exasperated.

"You're dead, Pinecone Face!" someone shouted. There was the sound of shuffling and mumbling and Brett assumed that everyone else had just gotten woken up.

"Yeah?" He heard Thalia taunting. "I'd like to see you try, Death Breath."

Brett heard the unmistakable sounds of a fight and winced when the sounds of shattering glass filled the air. There were more voices now. It seemed as though the others had either joined in or were trying to stop the fighting.

Annabeth just sighed. "Percy!" she called.

A moment later, Percy's head poked in through the doorway. "Yeah?"

"What's going on out there?" Annabeth asked.

"Well," Percy started but then paused. "You know? I'm actually not sure." He turned and called out, "Hey, Frank? What's going on?"

From his spot at the table, Brett could see the muscular man turn away from where he was trying to pull apart two of the others. "I'm pretty sure Thalia pushed Nico off the couch and, by extension, Will. Now Nico and Thaila are going at it; they broke that ugly vase that Sally's friend got for her."

Percy lifted his hand to the sky. "Thank the gods! I hate that vase. Mom does too but she refuses to admit it."

"Yeah, anyway," Frank continued. "That woke up the rest of us up. Will and Jason are trying to break up Thalia and Nico, and Hazel is trying to save Leo from the barrage of angry environmentalists."

"What did Leo do?" Percy asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. I was busy trying to pull Nico off of Thalia but I think he said something about big businesses and climate change so now Piper, Calypso, Grover, and Rachel are going after him."

Annabeth pinched the bridge of her nose. "One morning of peace, is that too much to ask?" she muttered to herself. Brett wondered, not for the first time, why Annabeth was friends with these people. They were dangerous and violent and nothing like Annabeth. She was smart and responsible, these were a bunch of hooligans. She was sensible and mature, these people acted like children. Annabeth would be much better off without them.

Percy walked over and planted a chaste kiss on Annabeth's cheek. Brett's blood boiled at the sight. "Don't worry about it; I'll deal with it. You just stay here and finish your project."

Annabeth's shoulders slumped as she let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Seaweed Brain. You're the best."

"I know," Percy smirked as he exited the kitchen. How dare he manipulate Annabeth like that? Couldn't she see that he was just acting? It was only a matter of time before Percy turned on her and showed her his true colors.

Brett heard more shouting- now Percy's voice had joined the throng. He couldn't exactly make out the words that were said, but it didn't take long for the shouting and fighting to die down. Now he could hear Percy's words over the quiet grumbling of the others. "Come on, move it! Annabeth has sentenced all of us to room arrest until she's done with her project."

More grumbling.

"I've got snacks and Mario Kart in my room," Percy added. Brett heard the rush of feet and the sound of people pushing each other out of the way in order to be the first to reach Percy's room.

"Out of my way, Sparky. I'm gonna kick your ass at Rainbow Road!"

"As if! I could beat you with one hand tied behind my back."

Percy stuck his head back into the kitchen as the voices faded. "Everything's under control!" he said cheerily. "I'll try to keep the fighting to a minimum."

"Just don't let Piper and Leo play against each other. You remember the last time?" Annabeth shuttered.

Percy's eyes widened. "I thought we were never going to speak of that again."

The voices from down the hall were getting louder, and Percy took that as his cue to leave, which Brett was more than relieved about. He didn't like Percy, didn't trust him. He knew that Percy wasn't good for Annabeth, he just had to get Annabeth to see it.

* * *

Annabeth and he finished their project fairly quickly after that, the only distractions being the occasional shout heard from down the hall.

"Okay, I think that's everything," Annabeth finally announced. "We should be ready to present on Monday."

"Awesome." It was time to subtly drop hints about how good they were together. If he just planted a seed of doubt in Annabeth's mind about her relationship with Percy she would come running to Brett in no time. "You know?" he said. " We work really well together."

"Yeah, I suppose we do," Annabeth stated distractedly, busy shuffling papers and making sure they didn't forget anything.

"I mean it." He got up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Think about it, we work great together. We're both smart, we have the same interests-"

Annabeth interrupted him, her voice accusatory. "Are you hitting on me?"

Brett spluttered. "What? No!"

"You are!" Annabeth shoved his hand off her shoulder. "I can't believe you! You do realize my boyfriend is literally right down the hall, right?"

"Oh come on!" Brett threw his hands in the air. "You can't be serious about him! He's trouble. I know every girl goes through a 'bad-boy phase' but I'm serious, Annabeth. You can get hurt if you stick around him. It's best if you break it off now before it's too late."

Annabeth took a furious step toward him, causing Brett to take a step back. "First off, don't you dare insult Percy again, or assume that you know what's best for me! Percy is not a bad guy, and he sure as Hades would never hurt me." Annabeth's voice shook with controlled rage. "And second, I can take care of myself. I certainly don't need you to look after me!"

This was not going well. Obviously Annabeth was too wrapped up in it all to see the situation as it really was. "Annabeth-"

She held up her hand to stop him. "I think you should go."

"But-"

"Now. Brett." Annabeth herded him to the door despite his protests. Her voice was cold as she closed the door. "I'll see you on Monday."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! Once again I'm sorry that I don't update on a consistent schedule but life has its own ideas. I'm not going to keep making promises I can't keep, but I hope you do enjoy the chapters when I do eventually post them. **

**On a different and totally unrelated note that I'm going to put here because I don't have any other social media where I can, I've recently discovered that I am asexual, but I'm still too scared to come out to my friends and family. I guess I just wanted to put it out there somehow because it's kind of eating me up inside not telling anyone. But now it's out there and if anyone wants to talk to me about sexuality or if you have questions, or if you just want to chat and have someone listen to them I'm always willing. Just pm me! Anyway, on with the story. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HOO or POO**

* * *

Annabeth avoided him for as long as she could on Monday morning. He wasn't able to talk to her until right before English, and even then Annabeth did her best to focus only on making sure that everything for their project was ready. The classroom was relatively empty, with only the occasional student trickling in from the busy hallway outside.

"Annabeth-" Brett tried.

"Do you think it would be better if we started right with the powerpoint, or should we begin with a little bit of an introduction?" Annabeth didn't look at him as she spoke.

Brett tried again, "I don't understand why you're so angry with me."

Annabeth whirled around to face him. Her voice was incredulous. "You don't understand- Brett you tried to flirt with me when you _know_ I have a boyfriend, and then you proceeded to insult not only Percy but me as well!"

It was rare to see Annabeth angry like that, usually, she was more reserved. Brett thought that Percy must have had something to do with it. His poison was infecting Annabeth, but Brett decided not to mention his thoughts. The way to make Annabeth understand was not through making her angry. "What are you talking about?" he questioned instead. "I never insulted you!"

"You insinuated that I didn't know how to handle myself, that I wasn't smart enough to know if I was in a dangerous situation. That's pretty insulting, Brett."

"I'm not trying to insult you, Annabeth," Brett insisted. "I'm trying to _help_ you. You're too close to see that Percy is bad for you."

"Percy is one of the best things that's ever happened to me!" At this point, Annabeth had completely forgotten about making any last-minute changes to their project. Her voice had gotten louder. She wasn't quite shouting, but she was loud enough that a few of the other students turned to look in their direction. "He's my best friend, and we've gone through hell for each other! The last thing I need is some guy who thinks he knows me placing judgment on my life. You don't understand _anything_, so just stop trying, Brett."

"It's not good to get attached so fast."

"What are you talking about?" She was quieter now. She sounded almost baffled by Brett's statement. Or maybe she just didn't like that Brett was calling her out.

"I mean obviously you haven't known him for that long, and it's not healthy to get so attached to another person so quickly."

"What makes you assume that I haven't known Percy for long?" Annabeth defended.

"Well if you had I would have met him before now, or at least heard of him."

"How incredibly arrogant of you," Annabeth seethed. "You do realize that I don't have to tell you anything about me, right? For your information, I've known Percy for six years, and we've been dating for the past two."

What? How could she have possibly known him for that long and yet still not see what an awful influence he was? It just wasn't possible to be friends with someone for that long without realizing that they were not the type of person you'd want in your life. Annabeth must be in deeper than he originally thought. Maybe she owed Percy and his gang money? Or maybe he was blackmailing her? Brett didn't know, but he did know that he had to get her out of there.

"Where did you two meet?" he asked. Maybe Annabeth was making it up to try and make their relationship sound more convincing. He would just have to catch her in the lie- make her see.

"Summer camp," Annabeth responded instantly.

"How old were you?"

"Twelve."

"What was your first impression of him?" Brett hoped his question would trip her up.

It didn't. Annabeth responded without hesitation. "I thought he was a scrawny little twerp. Then he went and proved himself to be just as obtuse as he looked." She smiled fondly, which didn't match the sentiment of her statement.

"Then why on Earth are you dating him?"

"Like I said. He's my best friend. We've been through a lot together, and I wouldn't trade him for anything else in the world."

"But-"

Annabeth stopped him. "I'm not going to discuss this, or any topic related to it, with you. I don't care what you think. I make my own decisions, and I don't need you poking around in my business." She turned away, and the bell stopped Brett from trying to continue the conversation.

* * *

After their conversation, Annabeth went back to ignoring him. He tried for the rest of the English, and even during gym class. No matter what he said or did she still managed to avoid him.

With a defeated sigh he slumped down at the cafeteria with his lunch.

"Aw, cheer up, mate," his friend Randy nudged him. "You gotta get your mind off of this whole Annabeth thing. What'd' ya say to pizza after school?"

That was one of the last things Brett wanted to do, but he tried to respond enthusiastically nonetheless. "Yeah, that sounds great, Randy."

Randy and Jake had been his best friends since middle school. He met Randy when they'd ended up sitting next to each other in biology, and they had quickly become friends. Jake joined their group about two months later when Randy stepped in to stop a pair of bullies giving Jake a hard time for being raised by a single mother.

It'd been the three of them against the world ever since then. They'd survived middle school together, and now they were completing their last year of high school. Brett didn't want to think about what would happen next year when they all went off to college. Randy had his eyes on Plymouth State University up in New Hampshire, while Brett was looking at Universities closer to home. Jake still hadn't decided on a college, but he wanted to escape to the West Coast.

Brett liked to think that their friendship was strong enough to endure the distance, but he knew of people who had been closer than them that had drifted apart after high school.

There was no point worrying about it now. He might as well live in the present and enjoy the time he still had with his friends, and not worry about what the future might hold.

"I'm down for pizza," Jake said, sitting down across from Brett. "But I have basketball practice 'til 4, so we'd have to meet after that."

"How about 4:30?" Randy asked.

"Cool with me," Jake answered. "Brett?"

"Huh?" Brett looked up distractedly. "Yeah, I can do 4:30."

* * *

The pizzeria was a small, local place. It didn't look like much from the outside, with it's peeling paint and flickering neon sign, and the inside wasn't much better. The walls were covered with old Italian paintings, and there were fake grapevines wrapped around dingy sculptures of Roman gods. Minimal sunlight filtered through the dirty windows, and the dim lights didn't illuminate the room any better.

They came here often. It was a great place to relax and forget about the real world for a while. They sat their usual booth, tucked into the corner and removed from the hustle and bustle of the restaurant, but it still gave them a good vantage point of the rest of the building. Brett listened as Jake and Randy argued about whether their math teacher was a demon from hell, or if she was simply an escaped criminal posing as their math teacher for the sole purpose of spreading misery. It wasn't long before Brett managed to push any thought of Annabeth to the back of his mind.

"Oh come on, no human being can be that evil! She has to be a demon."

"For that to be true," Jake replied, using a slice of pizza to point accusingly toward Randy, "you'd have to believe that demons and monsters exist."

"Well, Mr. Atheist, you can't prove that they _don't_ exist," Randy countered.

Jake took a bite of his pizza. "It's the same concept as 'innocent until proven guilty.' Until it is proven that monsters _do _exist, the assumption is that they don't. The burden of proof lies on your shoulders, not mine."

Randy huffed. "Yeah, well, you'd know everything about 'innocent until proven guilty,' wouldn't you? I still don't know how you managed to swipe Mrs. Palmer's glasses right under her nose."

Jake shrugged. "Pure, unadulterated talent, my friend."

Brett opened his mouth to give his input on the matter, but something else caught his attention.

A group of people had entered the restaurant and made their way to the counter; not an unusual sight. What had made Brett pause was the fact that he recognized them. Standing at the counter talking to the employee were three of Annabeth's 'friends.' More specifically, Leo, Jason, and the girl that Brett had assumed was Jason's girlfriend. Brett leaned forward, trying to catch what they were saying.

Leo asked the boy behind the counter if they delivered to Long Beach to which the boy responded that it was outside of their delivery range.

"What's it gonna take to get you to deliver to the beach?"

"I'm sorry sir, but we don't deliver there."

"Are you sure you can't make an exception?" the girl asked.

The boy shook his head. "I'm sorry, no."

Leo shared a look with Jason and his girlfriend. "I got this, Pipes," he said before pulling out a giant wad of cash. "I'll ask again," he said turning back to the employee, "what's it gonna take for you to deliver to Long Beach tonight?"

Where did a group of teenagers get that much money? The only explanation Brett could think of was drugs. It wouldn't surprise Brett one bit if the members of Annabeth's friendship group were involved in both the sale and consumption of drugs. People like them often came hand in hand with addictions.

Brett watched as the boy behind the counter stumbled over himself in his haste to fulfill Leo's wishes. Money was power, and oftentimes that power fell into the wrong hands. Who knew what sort of influence these people had over Annabeth?

"Hello? Earth to Brett?" Randy waved his hand directly in Brett's line of vision. "Were you even listening?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, of course I was listening." Bret waved his hand dismissively "Hey, what do you guys say to hitting the beach tonight?"


End file.
